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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo watches the UIL Class 5A Division I state football championship football game between Highland Park and Temple with team owner Jerry Jones at AT&T Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016, in Arlington. Highland Park won the game 16-7(Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News)

If you were hoping for clarity, if you thought the Cowboys owner would shed light on the quarterback's plight, well, let's just say you're still in the dark with no flashlight.

Jones chose to obscure rather than enlighten. While he said he has met periodically with the quarterback in recent days and weeks and will continue to do so, he steadfastly refused to offer any sort of timetable or hint at a likely resolution. He did this repeatedly before indicating to a national reporter who caught him afterwards that Romo's status needs to be resolved before training camp begins in July.

"There's no waiting game,'' Jones maintained just moments earlier. "This is the offseason. We're not missing doing anything. From the standpoint of the franchise and the Cowboys, nothing is being held up here at all."

The benchmarks going forward are the start of organized team activities (April 17), the draft (April 27-29), the mandatory mini-camp in mid-June and the start of training camp in July.

Jones said "we don't have anything imminent that's pushing us.'' He didn't want to get into Romo's state of mind but stressed the lines of communication between the two are open and good.

"We're on great terms,'' Jones said. "But I certainly don't want to represent anything as to how he feels.

"But I feel good about how we're doing, we being the Cowboys, me and Tony. I feel very good about it."

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Romo's status has been frozen since free agency began three weeks ago. Head coach Jason Garrett said there's no update.

"Nothing's really changed since the end of the season," Garrett said. "It's a situation that we're working through. He and Jerry Jones are the principal people in working that situation through.

"It's really been status quo."

Jones deflected all specific questions, calling them technical issues that speak to the crux of what both sides are trying to resolve. The owner wouldn't say if there have been trade talks or if he would clear Romo and his representatives to speak directly to interested teams. He declined to say if the two sides have spoken about restructuring his contract to accommodate a potential trade or if Romo is seriously considering retirement.

Does Romo want to continue his career?

"That's not a question for me," Garrett said.

Garrett was asked if the quarterback will be welcome to the beginning of OTAs in 19 days if he's still with the club or if it's best that he doesn't attend. Garrett called that a hypothetical situation and declined to answer.

The one question the Cowboys head coach did answer was whether he still considers Romo capable in terms of durability and performance.

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"Tony's been a great football player in this league for a long time," Garrett said. "He's been a great football player for our organization. He can play the game at a high level. He played one series this past year for us and was very productive like he has been throughout his career.

"Durability has been an issue the last couple years. So nobody really knows how he can handle the course of a 16-game season, but that's true for everybody. You take that risk with every player on your roster.

"He's been a great football player for us for a long time. We've been fortunate to have him."

What about that do-right rule Jones famously announced during the scouting combine in Indianapolis last month. Are they adhering to it in this process?

"Absolutely, yes, absolutely," Jones said. "I'm completely satisfied with how he's doing and I have no reason to believe he's not satisfied with how I'm doing."

Jones was finally asked if he's given up on the idea that Romo will return as this team's backup. His reply?

"No ship has sailed," Jones said. "No ship has sailed. It's just like it was when the season was over.

"There is no ship that has sailed as far as I'm aware of regarding his multiple opportunities."